Standard impulse noise generator



Jan. 15, 1952 H. c. GOODRICH, JR 3,532,247

STANDARD IMPULSE NOISE GENERATOR I Filed Oct. 16, 1945 2 Sl-lEETS-SI-IEET 1 x3 I 7 GAIN com-no I I I I5 H I I DUMMY ANTENNA I 7 I TUNING I I coma l r 6 RECEIVER J FIG. I r n w ,PIEER ATE COHOT- I '65 l J TRIGGER PULSE I 2 2 OSCILLATOR I I 7 I I PULSE STRENGIH I METER I 3o-\ I I ATTENUATGR I '1 I 27 2 I -1- I l l 1 \16 I I L SHARP PULSE GENERATOR J F I 2 HUNTEIR X CC OODRIC H,

BY I

ATTORN EY Jan. 15, 1352 H. c. GOODRICH, JR 2,532,247

- STANDARD IMPULSE NOISE GENERATOR Filed 001;. 16, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 TIME AXIS- G- QUENCH CIRCUIT F-ATTENUA T 0R CIRCUIT E-GOMBINED R-c CIRCUITS CURRENT FIG.3

ATTENUATOR CIRCUIT NO QUENCH CIRCUIT VOLTAGE FIG.4

SPEEDOMETER INVENTOR HUNTER C. GOODRICH JR.

Q/MQMQ ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 15, 1952 eater sedan-es, re; swimmer.

Application bctoberrlfi, 194-,=Serial hi0. 25%,646

' (on. than;

(drained finder tii act or "March 3, 188a as 1 The invention describe he ein factured and used by or for the Government or governmental purposes without the payment is.

me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to i 7 J erators, particularly to a 'standard signal erator which generates a train I rather than "a continuous wav I In the study of interrerence in radiq re it is desirable to have standard ir' t'erf' signal against which to measure 'quant y the degree of interference produced py a 115 radiating agencies and also to nieasure' quan tatively the degree of response of a receiving system to interference. In theprior art here are known devices for measuring interference from signals having the character f a constant continuous wave of a signal frequency. The

more important and 'difiicult types of interfere signals to be studied are thojse of fan imp 9 character. In particulan me'thods for study 5 the interference produced bylth'e span; discharge in a gas engine are needed. V I impulses of discharge are'uprodu'c'd at a f constant repetition rate. inventifdii is p ticularly adapted to the study of radio inter ference produced by gas engines.

A purpose of my invention is to provide a standard noise signal generator.

Another purpose of m v ti a t6 no Id a standard electric signal generator or-r'epeateapulses 3? w A Another purpose of my invention 1515 o'vi'de a field strength meter for impulsive si'gna Another purpose of my invention is to p v a generator of a standard pulse signal which shall be permanent and reproducible. V i Another purpose 'of my invent'idn is to p a method and meansfor' the sea ment of radio interference produced b as gines and automobiles. v M I Another purpose of my invention is p a method and means for the study and measurement of response of radio receiver systems to pulse interference.

' Another purpose of my invention is to provi means for measuring response characteristics" of receiver systems. r i I v Another purpose of my invention is to' iii'bilid a method and means for measuring response characteristics of radio devices to edntmuoussignals and continuousnoise.

Another purpose of my invention is to sis-vise general thq of ie al 'eese. 9?. fecfhinque applicable to a'p'ulse signal generator.

In 'this case the" explain my invention.

.sp to, iv ch thee sites the easemeshd'si' nn strength.

another purpose or my'invention is to provide a pulse s'cil-lator inwhich the electrical char a ristids of the pulse are readily determinable from the circuit constants and meter readings within the oscillator.

other purposes or m invention win appear in th course of the description thereof which rc'ue'w's, h Y Y accordance with the present invention there is predate a novel pulse signal generator, which 11 ea a novel manner.

For a better understanding of my invention together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 13 megs illustrative of embodiments of my in? e compass the following figures:

Fig; l discloses a block diagram of a field intensity measuring system for pulse signals which employs my invention.

Fig. 2 discloses a circuit diagram for a pre ferred form of standard pulse signal generator which employed in my invention.

Fig. 3 discloses time-current graphs used to x V Fig. 4 discloses a time-voltage graph of a sawtooth wave used to explain m invention.

Fig. 5' discloses a modified form of part of the pulse'signal generator of my invention. 7

The system shown inFig. 1 for measuring the intensity, or field strength, of a pulse signal comprises astandardradio receiver 2 whose input' circuit connected alternatively through a two-' way switch 5 to either "an antenna 3 or through standard pulse signal generator I.

Standard pulse signal generator I is a generator of atrain of electric pulses. It contains a pulse strength meter it, an adjustable attenuator ll, a pulse rate control I2, and a pulse rate ere t.

Standard receiver 2 is a radio receiver con taming tuning" control 6," a gain control I, a signal strength meter 3,- anda pulse rate meter a dummy antenna 4 and shielded line I3 to a 9. I is c nstructed prererablyto have astandard intermediate frequency pass band width. Signal strength meter B is placed in the second detetdr fe'ircuit f rcjiv r s aman is the normal po'si for such a meter The pulse rate meter 9 is placed normally in the audio circuit of receir er 2 and'indic'atesthe pulse rate of a received pulse signal. crude form pulse rate meter 9 an signal s't'e'ngth peratoi-"listens and estiter 8 may consist of a a sharp pulse generator I6. which are the output of generator I6 are fed to.

Shielded line I3 is a line of low characteristic impedance with grounded return, which is terminated by its characteristic impedance within dummy antenna 4. This termination impedance is low compared to the insertion impedance of dummy antenna 4. Dummy antenna 4 has the same effective insertion impedance as antenna 3, but is shielded from radiation. This is standard practice in the art of field strength measurement.

In operation the equipment is set up with antenna 3 in the place at which the equivalent interference intensity of a pulse type radio field is to be measured. Antenna 3 is of a form for which the conversion factor from output to field by controllable voltage supply I8. The cathode is grounded. The plate is supplied through a dropping resistor 20 from a controllable plate voltage supply 2I. A plate voltmeter I0 is connected between plate voltage supply 2I and ground.

Betweenthe plate and cathode is connected a time-constant circuit comprising a capacitor 24 and the equivalent input resistance 21 of attenuator II in series. This equivalent input resistn ance is virtual and not physical and therefore is shown dottedin the drawing. Between the plate and cathode, there is also connected 2. quenching circuit comprising a resistor 23 and capacitor 22 strength is known, or else the same antenna is I used for all measurements with the system.

Antenna 3 is connected to receiverv 2.by two-Way switch 5. The tuning control 6 and the gain control 1 of receiver 2 are set at appropriate settings and thereafter left fixed during the course of the measurements. The reading of the signal strength meter 8 due to the field under observation is noted. The pulse rate of the received pulse radio signal due to this field is observed on pulse rate meter 9 and noted.

The two-way switch 5 is next turned to disconnect receiver 2 from antenna 3 and to connect it with impulse signal generator I through dummy antenna 4 and line I3. The repetition rate of the pulse from the signal generator is then adjusted to be equal to that just previously determined for the field. The adjustment is made by adjustment of pulse rate control I2 and by observation of pulse rate meter 23 or pulse rate meter 9. The attenuator II is then adjusted to bring the reading of'signal strength meter 8 of standard receiver 2 up to the reading noted for the signal to be measured.

The strength of the standard pulse signal of standard signal generator I as read on pulse strength meter I0 divided by the attenuation of attenuator II and multiplied by the conversion factor of antenna 3 gives the equivalent interference intensity of the pulse radio field being measured.

Fig. 2 shows in detail a circuit for a preferred form of standard pulse signal generator I. A trigger pulse oscillator I4 containing a pulse rate control l2 and a pulse rate meter 28 feeds its output in the form of a train of trigger pulses to The sharp pulses an adjustable shielded attenuator II and thence to shielded line I3.

Trigger pulse oscillator I4 is an oscillator which generates a train of electrical pulses at an audio or sub-audio rate. This rate is controlled by the setting of pulse rate control I2 and observed on pulse rate meter'28. Alternatively the pulse rate control I2 may be calibrated in rate and pulse rate meter 28 dispensed with. The output pulses of trigger pulse oscillator I4 are made as sharp as can be conveniently done by means well known in the art and are applied as positive trigger pulses to sharp pulse generator I6.

The trigger pulses are received in sharp pulse generator I6 across a grid resistor I'I, one end of which is grounded through a grid bias supply I8. This trigger pulse is applied through a current limiting resistor I9 to the grid of a gas discharge tube I5, which is preferably a 2D21 type tube, commonly called a thyratron. The grid is normally negatively biased below starting voltage inseries. These are of high resistance and capacity compared to resistor 21 and capacitor 24.

The output of attenuator II is fed through shielded line I3 to a matching terminating resistance 29, which is also the input resistance of whatever device is to receive the pulse signal. The return circuit is through the grounded shield.

The operation of my preferred embodiment of standard signal generator I as shown in Fig. 2 is as follows: Initially the grid of the thyratron I5 is biased negatively below cut-off voltage of the tube for the plate voltage applied, so that no plate current flows and the plate is at the full potential of the plate voltage supply 2|.

Positive triggering pulses from trigger pulse oscillator I4 are applied to the thyratron grid at a rate corresponding to the desired impulse repetition rate. When the grid rises to the starting voltage and the tube fires, the discharge path is through the tube I5, resistance 21, and capacitor 24. Capacitor 24 very quickly discharges; during the course of the discharge the voltage across resistor 21 very quickly falls below ground and rises again. After the substantially complete discharge of capacitor 24 capacitor 22 continues the discharge over a considerably longer period of time determined by the time constant of capacitor 22 and resistor 23. Capacitor 22 pre vents a rapid rise in thyratron plate voltage; and because of the negative resistance characteristic of the thyratron are this causes the arc to extinguish. It is advantageous to have the relatively slow discharge circuit composed of capacitor 22 and 23 across the thyratron, in order to secure a regular periodic discharge; as due to residual ionization a thyratron cannot be made to quench reliably at rates greatly in excess of 50,000 cycles.

After the thyratron has been quenched capacitors 22 and 24 recharge slowly from voltage supply 2| through resistor 20 up to the full voltage of the voltage supply. Resistor 20 is large compared to resistor 23 so as to insure that the plate voltage will drop far enough for the thyratron to quench. The action of the circuit is such that there is a single negative pulse through resistor 21.

' During the time of discharge of capacitor 22 and in the ensuing charging interval the trigger pulse on the grid of tube I5has time to subside and the grid returns to normal bias. The tube I5 can not strike again until the next pulse arrives from trigger pulse oscillator I4.

The current and voltage relations during a cycle are shown in Fig. 3. There curve E exhibits qualitatively the combined current flow of both RC circuits between points 25 and 28 of Fig. 2 during a cycle. The part of the curve below the time axis indicates current towards the plate,

the part above the time axis ihdioates towards capacitor 22. Curve Fex-hibits eualitae' tively current through (and voltage across), resistor 21 durin'g'a cycle; the part below the time axis indicates voltage below ground, the part above voltage above ground. The sharp pulse occurs during the interval between A and B. Curve G is merely the difference between these. or quench circuit current. The long time con stant of curve G relative to curve F is readily apparent. The tube quriehes at C and the ca- I pacitors 22 and 24 charge during the interval is time.

The following relations hold:

I=current in resistance 21 R21=resistance 21 Qz4=capacitance of capacitor 24 E21=plate voltage supply E o =,cut-oflvoltage of tube I 5 (for a about 8 volts).

All of the quantities in the right hand mem: her are readily determinable, Ezl may be read directly on plate voltmeter l0, and since all the other quantities are constants, plate voltmeter I 0 may be calibrated to read pulse strength directly. For this reason I call it the pulse strength meter.

The signal output from sharp pulse generator I6 is a standard pulse signal, since its essential characteristics, namely, pulse strength and pulse rate, are measured. I

Attenuator I I receives the standard sharp pulse across its input terminals. It has a constant purely resistive input impedance for the range of frequencies over which the pulse signal gen-"- erator is designed to apply. It is adjustable in attenuation by known gradations and feeds its output Without distortion to a matching low impedance lossless shielded line [3 terminated by the external load 29 which supplies the proper characteristic impedance termination. The return circuit is through ground;

The signal generator is constructed with stray 21321 tube impedances reduced to a minimum and a shield" 30 completely encloses it.

The output ofthe pulse signal generator- I is a train of pulses. Thepulsestrength of the out-"- putis the pulse strength as read on pulse strengthrlrieter Hldivided by the attenuation of attenuator later- M as read on pulse rate meter 28.

The standard pulse signal of my pulse signal generator I approximates, closely to. a train ofextremely narrow unilateral pulses, separated by long-intervals of constantvoltage. This constantv voltageis very close to zero but ,it;. is: the constancy. it e l ase-in t e-in e va an -the narrow idth. n the. unilateral. natur he. Pul e; hat i st ati t.

time voltage integral The pulse rate is the rate; oftrigger oscil The 'r'ourierser'les analysis or a train 01 pulses standing upon a constant base line is an adequate representation of my pulse signal. The analysis shows that the pulse train may be resolved into a .l ourierseries of a fundamental having the freque'noy of the pulse rate F and an unbroken series of the harmonics thereof all in like phase. The amplitude of the fundamental All is given by the Fourier analysis as I Ab=e2PF The amplitudes of succeeding harmonics decrease slowly-from this value. For a suiiiciently sharp pulse the amplitudes decrease very slowly out to a high order of harmonic regardless of the wave form of the pulse. Thus I have found that the harmonic series of the pulse from one pulse signal generator embodying my invention showed amplitudes not less than .9 A0 for the harmonics up to 25 me. and down-from At only 7 db. out to 50 me. Some indication was found of all harmonics out to the frequency which was the reciprocal of the pulse width.

It may be shown that for a triangular pulse, which the pulse of my signal generator approximates, the harmonics decrease gradually from A0 to .95 A0 at the harmonic whose frequency is one-fourth the reciprocal of the pulse width. The amplitude is still .8Q A0 at the harmonic of twice this. frequency. The frequency interval between the harmonics is the pulse repetition rate, so that the harmonics in the radio range are very close together. Thus the signal from mypulse signal generator fills the complete pass band of any receiver within its range of appli-'- cation with a dense set of signalsof constant known amplitude.

If desired, resistors 20 and 23 and capacitors 22 and 24 may be made adjustable so as to increase the flexibility of the signal generator; but I prefer to make them fixed in order to reduce harmful stray impedances and to preserve a more constant standard pulse signal.

I have found that the pulse characteristics of pulse signal generators employing my sharp pulse generator it are independent of the particular thyratron tube used or of the age or environment of the tube.

In a, specific embodiment of my invention the gaseous discharge tube was a 2D2-1 and the components had the following values:

the pulse, and thus curtails the upward extent of the flat portion of the harmonic range. but for use of the signal generator with receiversv having their frequency coverage within this ourtailed range this is not a detriment.

For values of resistance 21 and capacitor 24 giving a sufiiciently large time.- eonstant, capaci tor 22 and resistor 23 are not necessary: to insure:

; quenching of the tube I5 and may be; omitted;

'.-In the case that capacitor 22 and resistor 23 are omitted the voltage across resistance ZIis as represented in Fig. 4. The wave form is seen to be saw-toothed with one side very steep. The discharge of stray capacitance across resistance 2'! occurs through tube l5 during the interval A to B and'furnishes the preponderating contribution to the high frequencies of the harmonic series. The discharging of capacitor 24 is continued during the interval B to C. Recharging is accomplished during the interval C to D' as in Fig. 3.

The voltage across resistance 21 in the interval B to C isgiven by t being measured from B, and the amplitude of the higher harmonics of the wave are given by 1 A,,= E -E I I 21 where n=order of harmonic An=amplitude of harmonic of order n k: (21rFR2'zC'24) 1 and other symbols have their previous meaning. By proper choice offcircuit parameters, is may be kept preponderantly larger than n even up to quite high n. and the harmonic amplitudes are then uniform. The eifective pulse strength may then still be taken as A further modification of my pulse signal generator is shown in Fig. 5.

In this form voltage supply 2|, resistor 20, capacitor 24 and attenuator I I are shown connected together in series as in Fig. 2, but capacitor 22 and resistor 23 have been omitted. In place of trigger pulse oscillator I4 and gas tube 15 there J is shown a mechanical intermittent switch 3| connected between point 26 and ground. In switch 3! contact 32 is carried on a rapidly rotating disc 33, through which the contact is grounded. Disc 33 is .drivenby variable speed motor 35 which is supplied by an adjustable voltage supply 36. A speedometer 34 is calibrated to indicate the frequency at which contact 32 makes contacts, which is the pulse repetition rate. It is seen that capacitor 24 is discharged through resistance 21 by closing of contact 32. Th duration of this closing is made as brief as possible. There is thus produced by this device a voltage wave in resistance 21 of the form shown in Fig. 4. The character of this wave is as described above for the gas tube circuit without capacitor 22 or resistor 23. For this wave the amplitudes of component harmonics is given by 1 A,.=E T z r The pulse strength is given by P=R27C24E21 E21=100 volts R2o=50 megohms Ca i-=5 micromicrofarads R27=50 ohms F=100 cycles Significant harmonics were obtained from this equipment up to 50 me.

The use of the thyratron rather than the mechanical contact is to be preferred because of the superior regularity and uniformity of the thyratron discharge as compared to the mechanical switch discharge, but the mechanical switch avoids the requirement of a trigger pulse oscillator.

It is clear that my standard pulse signal is not restricted in its use to measuring pulse field strength. It may be used to measure any noise input voltage by inserting the signal from the generator in the circuit in which the noise to be measured is received.

My standard pulse signal generator may be used to measure the responsiveness of a selected receiverto pulse interference. In that case the selected receiver is connected as is rceiver 2 in Fig. 1 with switch 5 connecting it to dummy antenna 4. (Antenna 3 is now superfluous.) The signal generator I is set at a standard pulse rate and the attenuator H 'is adjusted to cause a standard output from the selected receiver. The output ofsignal generator I is an inverse measure of the response of the selected receiver to pulse interference.

A further use of my standard pulse signal generator is to measure the comparative response characteristics of the members of a group of receivers of the same type, such as are found in a production line. pulse response to continuous wave response at a given receiver adjustment is constant, so that the relative pulse response may be used as a measure of the relative continuous wave response. The apparatus is again arranged as in Fig. .1. with the receiver connected to dummy antenna 4. (Antenna 3 and even switch 5 are again superfluous) As previously stated meters 8 and 9 may consist of a speaker; accordingly no modification of a common receiver is necessary to accomplish a test. With the pulse signal generator I adjusted to predetermined output, the outputs of the receivers may be compared; or the generator may be adjusted for a predetermined output at each receiver. It is assumed that the pass band width of such receivers would be reasonably uniform.v In such measurements my standard pulse signal generator has the advantage over the normal type of continuous wave signal generators that it does not need to be tuned to the receiver with which it is to be used.

My pulse signal generator in conjunction with a determination of the pass band width of a radio device may in general be used to determine the characteristics of the device in place of a conventional continuous wave standard signal enerator. It has the advantage over the conventional signal generator that it requires no tuning adjustment and is very economical as a source of signals of known amplitude. The response to pulse signals may be determined as before and the pass band width may be readily determined from a signal of unknown amplitude by methods known in the art, such as varying either the signal or the tuning of the radio by a known frequency until the limits of the pass band are indicated by a substantial reduction in output. Conversely my standard pulse signal generator in conjunction with a conventional continuous wave signal generator may be used to determine the pass band width of a receiver by comparing the outputs due to pulse and continu ous wave and thereby calculating the band width.

In such a group the ratio of' This method of determining pass band width would often be quicker than manipulating the frequency, particularly if great numbers of determinations were desired. Such measurements are based on the relation that the response of a radio device to a set of uniform signals densely distributed in frequency equals the product of the response to a signal of a single frequency multiplied by the number of the set contained within the effective pass band of the device.

Having described the principles of my inven tion in connection with specific apparatus, I nevertheless wish it clearly understood that the specific illustrations and description are made by way of example only and not as a limitation on the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects. a

I claim:

1. An electronic pulse generator comprising a gaseous discharge tube having at least a cathode, a control grid receptive of trigger pulses, and a plate; a plate voltage supply, a high resistance connecting said plate voltage supply to said plate; a first capacitor-resistor discharge circuit connected between said plate and said cathode of small capacity and resistance and having a very short time constant whereby a very sharp pulse is produced upon discharge through said tube, and a second capacitor-resistor discharge circuit connected between said plate and said cathode of larger capacity and resistance and having a longer time constant whereby said discharge is substantially quenched.

2. A standard pulse signal generator comprising a trigger oscillator which generates a train of electric trigger pulses of known variable pulse rate, a gaseous discharge tube having a cathode, control grid, and plate, a plate voltage supply, a high resistance connecting said plate voltage supply to said plate, means for applying said trigger pulses to said grid, a first capacitor-resistor discharge circuit connected between said plate and said cathode of small capacity and re- Cir sistance and having a very short time constant whereby a very sharp pulse is produced during said discharge, a second capacitor-resistor discharge circuit connected between said plate and said cathode of larger capacity and resistance and having a longer time constant whereby said discharge is substantially quenched.

3. An electric pulse generator comprising a trigger oscillator for generating a train of electronic triggering pulses, a gaseous discharge tube having a cathode, a control grid and a plate, a plate voltage supply, a high resistance connecting said plate supply to said plate, means for applying said triggering pulses to said grid whereby said tube is discharged, first discharge circuit means connected to the output of said tube whereby very sharp pulses are produced during said discharge and second discharge circuit means connected to said output for substantially quenching said discharge subsequent thereto.

HUNTER C. GOODRICH, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,647,349 Friis Nov. 1, 1927 2,079,205 Gillett May 4, 1937 2,083,202 Schlesinger June 8, 1937 2,137,351 Schlesinger Nov. 22, 1938 2,144,779 Schlesinger Jan. 24, 1939 2,173,180 Peterson Sept. 19, 1939 2,185,635 Kock et a1. Jan. 2, 1940 2,188,611 Norton Jan. 30, 1940 2,240,788 Kock May 6, 1941 2,252,058 Bond Aug. 12, 1941 2,312,810 Finch Mar. 2, 1943 2,416,327 Labin Feb. 25, 1947 2,420,211 Tourshou May 6, 1947 2,421,016 Deloraine May 27, 1947 

